Briggs gets Urlacher's vote

Says Bears should make it a priority to re-sign linebacker, can afford it, writes David Haugh

December 15, 2006|By David Haugh.

Nobody recognizes the importance of outside linebacker Lance Briggs more than the guy who plays beside him.

So, naturally, Brian Urlacher wants the Bears to consider doing everything possible, including renegotiating Urlacher's contract if they deem it necessary, to lock up Briggs to a long-term deal rather than allowing him to become a free agent.

But Urlacher has not volunteered to rework his nine-year, $56.65 million deal to accommodate Briggs as ESPN analyst Joe Theismann indicated during Monday night's telecast. Nor does the Bears team leader think such restructuring would be required given the increases in the league's salary cap before next season.

"I didn't volunteer anything," Urlacher clarified Thursday. "[Theismann] asked me if it came down to that, would I be willing to do something to restructure? There was no volunteering."

It's a nice thought. But, as Urlacher noted, an NFL salary cap expected to rise from $102 million to $109 million in 2007 and $116 million in 2008 makes such a selfless gesture avoidable. The Bears likely will have more than $20 million under the 2007 cap to afford Briggs--if they want to devote a large amount of money to one position--and still address other needs via free agency.

Around the league, the salary-cap increases could allow more teams to keep their own free agents and shrink the unrestricted market in which Briggs would be a top target.

"If they restructure mine, they probably have to give me another bonus if they do restructure so either way [it costs the Bears money up front]," said Urlacher, now represented by Pat Dye and Bill Johnson. "I don't think it's a big deal. My cap number ($5.85 million) isn't that big and we're under the cap anyway."

Urlacher hopes the Bears and Briggs will be able to come to terms on a new deal rather than have the team stick the franchise tag on Briggs that would pay him the 2006 average of the five highest-paid linebackers in the league for one season--about $8 million.

If the Bears stuck an "exclusive rights" franchise tag on Briggs, they would have to pay him the average of the top five linebacker salaries as of April 2007 and he could not negotiate with other teams. If they used the "non-exclusive rights" label, the average would be based on 2006 salaries and he still could negotiate with other teams. But it would cost the team that signed him two first-round draft picks if the Bears decided not to match the offer.

"If they want to they can do that [with the franchise tag], but, hopefully, it doesn't come to that," Urlacher said.

Briggs took a risk by turning down a lucrative bonus and extension offer in the spring, but he has made it pay off by producing another Pro Bowl-caliber season. His price has gone up every Sunday, but Urlacher thinks reinvesting in a player who has made him better would be money well spent for the organization he is the face of--even if some of it comes out of Urlacher's contract.

"It's not going to come down to that, but if it's close, or I can do something to do it, I'd love to do something with my contract to be able to help them out because [Briggs] is a good player and probably would end up helping me in the long run too," Urlacher said.

Whether the Bears will approach Urlacher about that possibility is a question that can't be answered for a few months. Here are a few that can be.

Is Robbie Gould picking up his upper body and head too soon making him push or slice his FGs? It seems like golfers have the same problem when they want to watch their drives too soon without following through. Any thoughts?

Good question, and one that Gould has pondered often since missing from 37 and 49 yards inside the Edward Jones Dome on Monday night against the Rams. He still looked disappointed addressing the misses Thursday for the first time--72 hours later.

"There's no excuse for it, the rest of the team did their job and I didn't do my job," said Gould, who still is 26 of 29 for the season. "I hit great balls. For one reason or another, I didn't follow through as much as I normally would. I don't know what it was. I hit them straight, just not where they needed to be."

Gould vowed to begin a new streak Sunday after going through the first "slump" of his brief but consistent NFL career.

"It's not a matter of knowing I can't do it, it's not a confidence issue," Gould said. "I just have to maintain focus. It's a humbling experience for me, but I'll take it in stride."

Though no one else has clinched a spot yet this season, it appears that New Orleans, Dallas, Seattle, the New York Giants and Atlanta/Philadelphia/Minnesota will fill out the playoff field. Without officially knowing the Bears' probable opponent this year, who do you project as the most difficult matchup in the divisional round? Do you believe they will not repeat the quick playoff exits of 2001 and 2005?